Business

Why drought on the Prairies is making your steak more expensive – CBC.ca

Published

7 months ago

February 26, 2024

Ask John Wildenborg if he thinks Canadians will be paying more for steak during future barbecue seasons, and the owner of Calgary specialty butcher shop Master Meats doesn’t hesitate.

“Prices are definitely going to go higher, no ifs, ands or buts about it,” he said.

“It keeps me up at night, actually, thinking about coming into the summer and where prices are going to be. It’s not a good situation.”

Beef — whether in the form of a juicy burger or a classic tenderloin steak — is a mainstay of many Canadians’ diets. Its popularity is the reason why consumer demand for beef has historically remained strong, even through periods of economic downturn when Canadians have less money in their wallets.

But the business of beef is changing, in large part due to consecutive years of severe drought across North America’s main cattle-producing regions.

From parched southern Alberta to water-scarce east Texas, ranchers have been downsizing their herds due to a lack of grass for grazing. The resulting shortfall in cattle supply is reducing overall beef production and helping to push retail beef prices higher.

“A 10-ounce New Yorker right now … would cost around $20. Three years ago that was maybe a $15 steak,” Wildenborg said.

“And this is usually the slow time of year for beef, but wholesale prices haven’t dropped off at all since Christmas. I’m paying 40 per cent higher than I was last year at this time.”

Food in general, as consumers know, has increased in price over the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an overall rising cost of living. But while inflation is starting to moderate in a number of food categories, the drought factor means beef prices are not.

“When you talk to producers, whether it’s in the Canadian provinces or key cattle-producing regions of the United States, many producers will tell you they’ve had to experience two ‘hundred-year droughts’ back-to-back over the course of 10 years,” said Lance Zimmerman, a Kansas-based senior beef analyst with Rabobank.

“Add to that a global pandemic and all the challenges that go along with that, and we’ve had a 10- to 15-year period that’s been particularly challenging for a lot of cattle producers. It has led to a lot of liquidation.”

Liquidation is when a rancher makes the decision to sell off a greater proportion of heifers and cows for slaughter rather than retaining them to grow his or her herd. Ranchers may decide to do this because of a variety of factors, including high input costs, limited labour availability and high interest rates, as well as the challenges associated with long-term drought.

In Canada, the size of the national cattle herd has been declining for years, a trend that continued last year amid a punishing drought in Western Canada. This country’s beef cow inventory fell in 2023 by 1.5 per cent to 3.66 million animals — the lowest level since 1989.

South of the border, U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show an even more dramatic story. There, the national cattle herd has been contracting for five years, reaching 28.2 million animals in 2023. That’s the smallest number of cattle the U.S. has seen since 1961.

Fewer cattle means less beef production, which translates to fewer exports as well as higher prices at the retail counter.

Cows covered in snow are pictured. — Snow-covered cattle stand in a pasture near Didsbury, Alta., on Oct. 23, 2023. It could be a long, lean winter in cattle country, as drought-ravaged western Canadian ranchers struggle to secure enough feed to get their livestock through the cold months. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

“Unfortunately for the consumer, those prices are going to ratchet higher,” said Zimmerman.

“On a U.S. basis, retail beef prices are currently about $8 US a pound, and by our estimation, over the next several years we can expect another dollar-and-a-half increase, quite easily.”

In southeast Alberta, near the tiny community of Jenner, rancher Brad Osadczuk shipped some of his cattle east to Saskatchewan last summer to graze on rented pastureland. It was the only way he could feed them because his own grassland was entirely depleted by drought.

“This past year was the worst year for drought in adult life and I was born in 1971,” Osadczuk said. “Our native prairie just never turned green.”

While Osadczuk was able to avoid reducing his herd size, he said many ranchers in his area have been choosing not to replace cows after they sell them for at least the past five years.

“We’ve been mitigating drought for a long time,” he said.

“So we’re kind of at a point in this part of Alberta where our herds are pretty small already.”

Even if the current drought cycle were to end this year, cattle numbers can’t rebound overnight. That’s why experts say the new era of higher beef prices is here to stay, at least for a while.

“This isn’t a short-term thing,” Osadczuk said.

“For a female calf that is born today, it’s four years before that female can have its own calf that can end up in the food chain.”

Anne Wasko, a Saskatchewan-based market analyst with Gateway Livestock, said North American cattle and beef supplies will remain tight for several years, and much is riding on Mother Nature.

“We’re going to be looking at smaller supplies in ’24, ’25 and possibly out as far as ’26,” she said.

“We truly need moisture, first and foremost, to turn this boat around.”

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Business

Roots sees room for expansion in activewear, reports $5.2M Q2 loss and sales drop

Published

1 day ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.

The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.

“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.

The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.

But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.

Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.

“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.

“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”

Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.

The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.

In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.

Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.

The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.

The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.

Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.

Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.

It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.

Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.

Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ROOT)

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Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

Published

2 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.

No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.

Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.

A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

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Transat AT reports $39.9M Q3 loss compared with $57.3M profit a year earlier

Published

2 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.

The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.

The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.

Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

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